The increased demand for lithium batteries has resulted in research and development to improve the safety and performance of these batteries. The organic carbonate solvents employed in the electrolytes of many batteries are associated with high degrees of volatility, flammability, and chemical reactivity. A variety of electrolytes that include polysiloxane solvents have been developed to address these issues.
Electrolytes having polysiloxane solvents typically have a low ionic conductivity that limits their use to applications that do not require high rate performance. Additionally, batteries that include polysiloxane solvents have shown poor cycling performance when used in secondary batteries. As a result, lithium bis-oxalato borate (LiBOB) has been used as the salt in these electrolytes. However, LiBOB is unstable in the presence of moisture. The amount of moisture in battery electrolytes and/or electrodes can be on the order of several hundred ppm. The presence of this moisture can cause LiBOB to decompose into lithium oxalate (LiHC2O4.H2O) and form a precipitate in the electrolyte. This precipitate can increase the internal resistance of electrical devices such as batteries.